The pasuk says, “And Aharon shall be brought to his people, for he shall not enter the Land that I have given to the Children of Israel...” [Bamidbar 20:24]
The Sefas Emes asks a very simple question here: If his time to die had not come yet, just because he was not able to enter the Land, is that a reason to diminish his lifespan? If it is not the time for him to die, he should not die. On the other hand, if his pre-destined time to die had already arrived, why was it necessary for the Torah to link his death with his not being able to enter the Land? What does this pasuk mean?
The Sefas Emes interprets this based on a basic concept: The length of time we live in this world is not pre-determined to be X number of days or years. We live in this world until the time we complete our assigned mission. When we complete our mission, we leave this world. Some people take 80 years to complete their mission. They live until 80. The Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles) died when he was 33 years old. Apparently, he completed his mission by the time he was that age. He wrote 33 sefarim. He died on the 33rd day of the Omer. He only needed 33 years.
The Sefas Emes explains that Moshe and Aharon asked to enter Eretz Yisroel so that they would be able to fulfill mitzvos that were Land-dependent. [Sotah 14a] In other words, they felt “Our mission in this world is not finished yet; we have not been able to fulfill the mitzvos ha’teluyos b’aretz.” The Almighty told them, “I have other plans.”
According to the approach of the Sefas Emes, if Aharon’s mission included going into Eretz Yisrael, he would not have died yet because he would not have completed his spiritual mission in life, which included fulfillment of the mitzvos of terumos and ma’asros, etc. He was a kohen who never ate terumah in his life. The Torah therefore says, “He will die now because he is not going to enter...,” meaning that entering Eretz Yisrael and fulfilling the special mitzvos there was not part of his life’s spiritual mission. Perhaps that mission was removed from him as some kind of punishment for the sin of Mei Merivah, but ultimately, his time to die came because he was not going to enter the Land, and his mission in life was already complete.
A friend of mine, who unfortunately died recently, told me a rather chilling statement before he died. He said, “We go into the supermarket and buy a quart of milk or a pound of cream cheese, and we check its expiration date. After that, it is not good anymore.” He told me, “We all have expiration dates printed on our foreheads. We just do not see the expiration date, but it is there.” That expiration date is dependent on when we complete our mission in life. When we complete our mission, we leave this world.
“...Because he will not enter...” Aharon is not going to go into Eretz Yisrael because the Land-dependent mitzvos were not part of his life’s mission. If so, that is why “Aharon died on Hor HaHor.”
RABBI YISSACHER FRAND
